The election of Donald Trump as US President has many people running for the hills. And while some may choose to boycott all things ‘US’, there may be no better time to head to the US than under Mr Trump’s reign.
The simple fact is, Donald Trump built his career on tourism. If there’s one thing at which he may be competent, it’s tourism. As ETB Travel News reports, Trump may well be the most tourism-savvy President in American history.
Mr Trump has developed hotels, golf courses, resorts and casinos, both in the US and around the globe. And although a few haven’t been viable commercially, he has set an extremely high standard in service, luxury and comfort.
During his election campaign, the President-elect said he would focus on improving transport infrastructure and upgrading gateway airports, which he declared are currently well below world standard.
Trump’s plans to upgrade infrastructure is part of his scheme to increase employment as well as generate tourism to the States.
Around 77.5 million travellers visited the US in 2015. And although it is the second-most visited destination in the world behind Paris, the USA ranks number one in world tourism income. With improvements to infrastructure and transport, Mr Trump hopes to make the USA the world’s most visited tourism destination within a few years.
Mr Trump’s comments about immigration, especially towards Mexicans, may not have made him many friends south of the border, which, considering Mexican tourists comprise 18.4 million legal arrivals each year, may not help his aspirations of making the US the world’s most visited country. He also has inflammatory opinions, about Muslims for example, which could mean airlines such as Emirates and Etihad limit connections to the country.
There are also questions as to whether the US will tighten visa entry requirements.
The British press has speculated that many Brits may boycott the US simply because they despise Trump. In fact, market research agency, Euromonitor, postulated a bleak outlook for US tourism after a Trump victory, while other travel speculators say tourism from countries such as Korea, Japan, China, Slovenia and Russia will actually increase.
Whatever the case, Mr Trump’s rise to the top of the pile shouldn’t have any real effect on Australians wanting to visit the States. If anything, it will be an interesting time to tour the US.
Read more at ETB Travel News.
Will Donald Trump’s presidency affect your plans to visit the States? If so, why?
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